Chapter 30: Detective Su Su Wuming

The mana of Qi Refining Layer One could only support Su Su Haoming in casting three basic spells, and they had to be wind-type spells that best matched his spiritual root; switching to other spells would likely make even two a stretch.

Fortunately, though, the recovery ability of this power system wasn't bad.

Su Su Haoming had already experimented in the castle — when his mana was completely exhausted, he needed about ten minutes to recover fully.

Of course, the prerequisite was having spirit stones; if relying solely on food conversion, no matter how rich the nutrition, it would take at least an hour.

Taking advantage of his elder brother and Uncle Uncle Qian not having returned yet, Su Su Haoming began setting up warning barriers on the courtyard gate and walls.

Calling them barriers was actually just simple air currents and wind ropes.

These wind ropes were wrapped around the courtyard walls and eaves; once someone stepped into them, the air currents would be disturbed, allowing Su Su Haoming to know every rustle of wind around him without stepping outside.

Setting up these things cost Su Su Haoming a full three spells plus twenty minutes of recovery time.

When everything was done, the sun had already hastened westward, and the sky was far from as bright as before.

Su Su Haoming gripped a spirit stone, sitting cross-legged on the bed to recover his mana.

Just then, the wind rope at the courtyard gate was triggered.

Su Su Haoming kept his eyes tightly shut, feeling the tactile feedback from the air currents, and quickly identified the identity of the visitor—

Elder brother was back!

He opened his eyes, tucked the spirit stone into his bosom, and strode out of the room.

"Elder brother!"

Su Su Haoming smiled and cupped his fists toward his elder cousin.

Su Su Wuming was about to respond when he suddenly froze slightly, eyeing Su Su Haoming with some suspicion.

For some reason, he always felt that the cousin before him had gained some indescribable something, seeming more confident and transcendent than the Su Su Haoming he'd seen that morning...

Confidence was one thing, but transcendent?

Could that word even be applied to his cousin?

It must be an illusion!

Su Su Wuming shook his head, then said softly, "Earlier I saw no movement in your room and thought you'd gone to sleep, so I didn't disturb you — are you well-rested now?"

"Refreshed and clear-headed!"

Su Su Haoming said, full of vigor.

Su Su Wuming glanced at him suspiciously twice, then nodded and said, "That's good then!"

Having said that, he stepped forward, hurrying past Su Su Haoming.

"Hey, hey!"

Su Su Haoming instantly broke composure, quickly stopping his elder brother and asking in a low voice, "Elder brother, how did Yin Vice Minister fare?"

Su Su Wuming's steps paused; after a moment's hesitation, feeling this matter was indeed related to his cousin, he answered, "I just went to Lu Lu Lingfeng's residence to inquire. Your fire gun's power was too fierce — one shot, and Yin Vice Minister's five viscera and six bowels were all shattered. After the Golden Guard caught him, before they could even carry him out of the Ghost Market, he'd already breathed his last..."

"Is that so, what a pity then..."

Su Su Haoming's face showed disappointment.

Su Su Wuming was also somewhat regretful, after all he had already confirmed that Yin Vice Minister was the supplier in charge of Chang'an's red tea sales — at least the one pushed into the spotlight.

A living Yin Vice Minister would surely be more valuable than a dead one!

Since Yin Vice Minister was already dead, to accelerate the case, Su Su Haoming would have to step in himself.

After a brief thought, he asked again in a low voice, "Elder brother, there's one more thing — since this morning, I've been wanting to ask: why is there the scent of Soul-Returning Incense on you?"

"Soul-Returning Incense?"

Su Su Wuming froze slightly, puzzled: "What is that?"

Su Su Haoming explained, "A kind of preservative spice. Applied to the body, it can keep a corpse from decaying for months."

Su Su Wuming's pupils contracted slightly; he then reached into his bosom, pulled out a piece of red cloth, and said thoughtfully, "So you're called Soul-Returning Incense!"

Seeing this red cloth, Su Su Haoming, though he already knew the plot, still cooperatively exclaimed, "That's it!"

"The scent on this is Soul-Returning Incense. Elder brother, where did you get it?"

Su Su Wuming said softly, "This piece of red cloth was cut from the murdered bride's corpse. I had my suspicions at the time, thinking it should be some kind of preservative spice, just unclear about its origins."

At this point, he paused, turned to look at Su Su Haoming and said, "You've known many strange and unusual principles since childhood, so I won't ask how you know. Tell me, what exactly is the origin of this Soul-Returning Incense?"

"Thank you for your trust, Elder brother!"

Su Su Haoming breathed a sigh of relief inwardly, then said seriously, "I don't know the method of making Soul-Returning Incense, but I know its raw material should be a rare flower from the Western Regions. It's said even ghosts like to use this rare flower to preserve their bodies."

Ghosts?

Su Su Wuming froze again, then said thoughtfully, "Speaking of which, when I was in the Ghost Market, I met a strange old beggar. He smelled the scent on me, was suddenly scared out of his wits, and kept shouting he'd seen a ghost. Could it be that he recognized the Soul-Returning Incense?"

Hearing this, Su Su Haoming immediately realized that this so-called old beggar should be Fei Fei Jishi.

According to Lin Dage, Fei Jishi's real name was Fei Yingjun, the youngest disciple of the Medicine King Sun Simiao, and would be the medical expert of the main group in the future Tang Mystery.

"That should be it!"

Su Su Haoming nodded.

Su Su Wuming thought briefly, handed the red cloth to his cousin, and asked again, "Yansheng, help me calculate — for a piece soaked to the same degree as this red cloth, but large enough to wrap an entire corpse, roughly how much Soul-Returning Incense would be needed?"

Su Su Haoming kneaded the red cloth in his hand and shook his head, "That would be far too much!"

Su Su Wuming mused, "Such a huge quantity of Soul-Returning Incense would certainly require no small amount of raw material... I suspect the murderer may have a channel through which he can regularly obtain raw materials!"

Su Su Haoming nodded, "I think so too."

Su Su Wuming continued asking, "Where do you think is most likely?"

Su Su Haoming said casually, "Speaking of rare flowers and herbs from the Western Regions, that would be the Western Market Office!"

"But I met with Western Market Prefect Kang Yuanli yesterday, and he said he didn't know this Soul-Returning..."

Before he finished, Su Su Wuming's voice cut off abruptly, then he sneered, "What a fine Prefect Kang!"

Seeing his elder cousin had already begun to suspect Kang Yuanli, Su Haoming pressed on while the iron was hot: "Elder brother, I have another question — why did the murderer dress the corpse in clothing smeared with Soul-Returning Incense?"

Su Su Wuming hesitated, "To keep the corpse from rotting?"

Su Su Haoming countered, "Then why keep the corpse from rotting?"

"..."

Su Su Wuming pondered for a moment, then suddenly raised his head, his eyes gleaming as he said, "To make tea... and for the ritual!"

He figured it out that quickly?

Su Su Haoming was somewhat surprised, but still played along, "To make tea and for the ritual?"

"Exactly!"

Su Su Wuming spoke in a low voice, "While investigating the missing brides case, this older brother discovered that for every bride missing in Chang'an County, a batch of black tea would appear shortly after. Thus, this older brother concluded there must be a certain connection between the two."

"Furthermore, when I previously visited Vice Minister Pei, Vice Minister Pei served this older brother Chang'an black tea. At that time, this older brother smelled a pungent scent of blood in the tea..."

Su Su Haoming played along, "Does older brother mean the raw material for Chang'an black tea is those missing brides?"

Su Su Wuming shook his head, "Not certain yet, only that it is highly probable... Moreover, if it were merely for making tea, this level of Resurrection Incense would be far too excessive!"

"Therefore, this older brother speculates the Resurrection Incense has other uses."

"For instance, to help the culprit preserve the corpses for arranging some mystical, ghostly great formations!"

The more Su Su Wuming spoke, the brighter his eyes became, "Yansheng, think carefully. Each missing bride in Chang'an is separated by a period of time. If the number of corpses required for the ritual is insufficient, wouldn't the Resurrection Incense be needed to keep the corpses from rotting?"

"Coincidentally, this older brother once saw a formation that could hide corpses in corresponding positions to ensure the corpses' resentful spirits do not gather."

"If this is truly the case, then the eight missing brides before should already have been buried!"

Saying this, he suddenly turned his head, looking at Su Su Haoming with gleaming eyes and said:

"Where is the map?"

"In the study."

Without the slightest hesitation, Su Su Wuming strode towards the study.

Not long after, Su Su Wuming walked out with a face full of smiles, a map lying on the desk behind him in the study.

"Yansheng, do you know what I came back to do?"

"..."

"Get money, buy meat, reward the hunters, and investigate the Ghost Market a second time!"

Su Su Wuming turned his head, looking at the map on the desk and smiled, "Although there are always brave men under heavy rewards, this small favor of this older brother is far from being considered a heavy reward, let alone enough to drive these veteran rogues!"

"So, this older brother has now changed his mind. We should start with small matters first, sending them to search for the missing brides' corpses. Once they find the corpses as this older brother predicts, it will surely establish this older brother's authority."

"At that time, we can offer rewards and then speak of the Ghost Market; perhaps the result will be different."

"This is the ancient wisdom of our ancestors, the old strategy of Shang Yang!"

A smile appeared on Su Su Haoming's face as he clasped his hands and said, "This younger brother admires older brother's wisdom!"

Su Su Wuming chuckled, "Yansheng is being modest. As the saying goes, every trade has its specialist. This older brother specializes in judging cases. If I didn't even have these small tricks, wouldn't I have lived these extra years in vain compared to you?"

Saying this, he looked up at the sky and hurriedly said, "Alright, it is getting late. This older brother must hurry to the government office!"

Watching Su Su Wuming's hurried departing figure, Su Su Haoming couldn't help but sigh softly in his heart.

It was only with Lin Dage's help that he could be forewarned about the case, whereas Su Su Wuming, relying solely on existing information, could peel back the layers to catch the subtle slip-ups the culprit inadvertently revealed.

Indeed, in case investigation, ten Su Haomings are no match for Su Su Wuming!

After a moment of thought, Su Su Haoming opened the chat group.

【Su Su Haoming: The closer one gets to the court, the more one feels one's own inadequacy...】

【Su Su Haoming: Brothers, I have decided!】

【Su Su Haoming: I will give up the imperial examinations and become a monk to live freely!】

(End of this chapter)